Travel time, game time

[Michael_ Gee]

Dear IGAG: New Hampshire International Speedway is 70 miles from my house. For the iniitial Nextel (then Winston) Cup race there in the '90s, I left home at 8 a.m. for a 2 p.m. start. I arrived in the press room fifteen minutes before the national anthem.
Ever after, I left at 6 a.m.

 

[The Rules of Golf]

Big fan of arriving early, especially for night games. With early notes to be filed and the boatload of other copy I need to do, it seems like I can't get there early enough. Now if it's one of those 11:30 a.m. kickoffs, I'll try to be there just early enough so that traffic doesn't make me late. But for a night game on deadline, early. At the joint I cover, the difference between being OK on traffic and stuck mercilessly on the interstate going 5 mph is sometime around 3 1/2 hours before the game.

 

[Jim Tom Pinch]

Put me down for between 2-3. I like to gossip and listen to rumors and talk about nothing with sources in case there might be some something in that nothing.

 

[JBHawkEye]

I actually got to a college football game at Nebraska 3 1/2 hours before (it was a night game, I had never been there before) and I was glad I got there when I did. I think I got one of the last spots in the media parking area.

A lot of my travel time depends on the arena. If there's little space in the press room (Kohl Center, Wisconsin; Assembly Halls, Bloomington and Champaign) I'll get there more than an hour and a half before the game.

An hour and a half early at the Kohl Center sometimes isn't even enough.

And God help you if you accidentally sit in someone's seat in the press room.

At least now they have wireless Internet there.

 

[Tracy Ringolsby]

Never see anything wrong with being three hours or so early. There's always something I can work on, and that way I have protected myself in case (1) there is an unexpected delay and (2) a story arises that I can get taken care of before the even begins. It also gives you a chance to chat with folks, which is how you develop sources in some arenas.

 

[slappy4428]

Got two words for anyone who worked the MAC or Big Ten around Michigan from like 1985 until the Detroit Newspaper strike, concerning when not to arrive for a game.
Terry Cabell.

 

[FishHack76]

I'll bite .. what's the story on Terry Cabell?

 

[HejiraHenry]

When I was a circuit rider on a I-AA beat out of Nashville, I liked to get to the game site about an hour ahead of time.

Not like traffic was a big issue. But I agree with the notion that it's good to leave yourself plenty of time just in case.

 

[slappy4428]

TC used to show up seconds before kickoff or even later -- every time.
Nicest guy in the world but arriving early was not his thing

 

[Claws for Concern]

Covering an NFL game in San Diego? Arrive the day before the game. Should be interesting Monday with the MNF game at 7:15 local time and the usual rush hour traffic and Chargers-Raiders fans to boot. Ugh.

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

When I was a circuit rider on a I-AA beat out of Nashville, I liked to get to the game site about an hour ahead of time.

****, when I covered Vanderbilt...

 

[Full of Shit]

Races, you're there 6-7 hours before the race starts. You put in a full day, timewise, before the damn green flag drops. Even at that point, I've come to a dead stop in the interstate from traffic. SEVEN FREAKING HOURS BEFORE A RACE.

For the Daytona 500 (a 1 p.m. start), it's generally accepted that if you're coming via I-95 and you haven't gotten to the International Speedway Boulevard exit by 7 a.m. you're too late. (Not that you won't make it in time for the race, but you'll get stuck in an ungodly traffic jam.)

:P

 

[insideman]

Major League Baseball coverage is a different animal. You're there 4 hours before gametime, every day, and if you're covering in NYC, or you're from NYC, you're even earlier. A real grind.

 

[Ace]

Races, you're there 6-7 hours before the race starts. You put in a full day, timewise, before the damn green flag drops. Even at that point, I've come to a dead stop in the interstate from traffic. SEVEN FREAKING HOURS BEFORE A RACE.

For the Daytona 500 (a 1 p.m. start), it's generally accepted that if you're coming via I-95 and you haven't gotten to the International Speedway Boulevard exit by 7 a.m. you're too late. (Not that you won't make it in time for the race, but you'll get stuck in an ungodly traffic jam.)

:P

That's true. I once just parked and walked two miles to Daytona because I never would have gotten there in time otherwise. And it wasn't even race day!

 

[SoCalScribe]

San Diego isn't THAT bad, but it's pretty bad. I think they encourage tailgaiting just to avoid the gridlock of all gridlocks.

For some college rivalry games in towns that aren't well-configured for a lot of traffic, you need to get there hours before kickoff just to make sure you can get a spot at all. That's always a bit scary when you cut it a bit close and you're creeping along hoping the makeshift lot they're redirected you to isn't full yet.

 

[Bubbler]

Major League Baseball coverage is a different animal. You're there 4 hours before gametime, every day, and if you're covering in NYC, or you're from NYC, you're even earlier. A real grind.

But at least that has some journalistic value with the clubhouse and field access. ****, you get more done before the game than during it if you're doing your job correctly. Same with the NBA to a certain extent.

But anymore than two hours before a NFL or college game? I know in some locales because of traffic/parking that's reality, but if it isn't, it's overkill and a waste of time to just hang out in the press box for that long, though with wireless, at least now you can answer e-mail, do more meaningful work on other stories, etc.

 

[Football_Bat]

For high schools, I do 15 minutes for every "A". That is, 30 minutes for a 2A, 45 minutes for a 3A, etc.

 

[Terd Ferguson]

For high schools, I do 15 minutes for every "A". That is, 30 minutes for a 2A, 45 minutes for a 3A, etc.

With high schools I like to do an hour early, but with an extra 15 minutes per A on a downward sliding scale. That means the top classification I'm good at an hour early, but anything below that I tack on 15 minutes with each smaller classification. Those lower class (in many ways) press boxes fill up quick and I'm not covering from the field. I rarely cause a scene, but when Goober and Gomer are just taking up space in the BugTussle press box, I get pissed. In an effort to prevent that, I've been known to show up hours before kickoff. I got to a 2A playoff game once about four hours before kickoff. Maintenance guys hadn't even unlocked the box yet. Obsessive? Yeah, but it kept me blood pressure at a manageable level.


Colleges I like being there at least 2:30 early if not more. I just like being able to "relax" before kickoff, talk with others in the box, watch a little football on TV and, of course, grab that first spot in line for the lukewarm BBQ. ::)

 

[expendable]

I've always liked getting to an event about an hour early -- especially for football. I haven't done any major I-A college gamers, but I'd imagine I would want to get there about two hours early. It is a neat time, and I enjoy watching the steady creschendo leading to kickoff. For basketball, I also like getting to the arena about 45 mintues to an hour early. It's a smaller creschendo, but it is neat to hear silence turn into about 10 bouncing balls only to be silenced by the crowd.

 

[slappy4428]

For preps, I'm there at least a half-hour early -- more if I know space is tight and I need to carve some out.